*OFFICIAL* Alienware 17 R2/R3 Owner's Lounge

Hey guys,

I have an Alienware 17 R2, and I'm having problems with my 180W charger.
Usually during gaming, the charger keeps turning off and then turning back on repeatedly, but it happens outside of gaming too, sometimes.

I emailed alienware for a 240W charger, but I still want to figure this out...

 

hi, just finished installing an ssd and doing a full re install of windows 10 on aw17 and now when I power down the system it just reboots. has anyone got any idea what might be causing this.

thanks sean.

 

Believe me when I say the 17 R3 1080P screen is great! Bright, color right on, I can't see how it can get any better other then going to the 4K screen!

 

An on site tech ruined my aw15r1. Got a aw15r2 for it in return with upgrades. Not a bad deal. A depot means maybe the same bad luck on a repair job but less control over the process.

 

What issues were you having?

I finally got AW to agree to build a new laptop for me. I pre-ordered the 17 R3 and have had issues since, quite literally, the day I took it out of the box. I have gone through 3 motherboards now and they finally decided to exchange; even though they assure me "they are confident the new system won't have any issues" I don't have much (any) faith and really just want a refund or for them to send me an Area-51 R2 instead. Clearly these 17 R3s have serious issues.

The alternative would be for me to keep my fault laptop until the Kaby lake models come out but if that's more than a few months away I can't wait that long. Not that they'd even let me wait anyways.

 

Out of the box the display plastic where it meets the aluminium was not aligned with the aluminium and was about half a mm out. The charger was turning off intermittently and the screen had some bleed in the lower corners. The charger was replaced and after a week started acting up again. The battery was not performing normally and had to be replaced. In the meantime the charger stayed turning off intermittently. Then the left side of the palmrest started making cracking sounds when you put your hand on it.

 

I dont have any issues with my R3.

 

My AW15R2 which is apart from the lack of a subwoofer and smaller chassis exactly the same and I dont have any issues.

What type of motherboard problems did you have?

 

Alienware 17 pascal - ** gtx1070 1080 ** given today's release by Nvidia mobile gpu,s anyone any idea when we will see pascal laptops.

I reached out to sales and they said November, hoping they don't really know anything as November seems like forever. Anyone any contacts....?

Really looking forward to a qhd or 4K glossy panel for Alienware 17 r4

 

Motherboard is not in stock @ Dell? What?

......

 

What's the most stable overclock settings for everyday usage you guys have for 980M?

 

Hello, did you find a solution to the graphics driver crashed and bsod, I have a brand new laptop got it yesterday and have yet to fix this problem. Tried all kinds of driver combinations with no luck even two full clean installs and my system is still not stable, if you have any luck please do share

 

New BIOS:

 

New Killer networking drivers 1.1.62.1727: http://www.killernetworking.com/product-support/driver-downloads

 

Just bought the Alienware 17 R3 with 256gb SSD + 1TB HDD.

I've realised with the UI there is stutter and lag and occasional freezes. Ive updated all drivers etc.

Do you recommend i do a clean install of Windows 10 pro?

It also came with a dead black pixel when i bought it brand new. Idk if dell can fix it.

 

I think Alienware has a zero dead-pixel guarantee, so they'd at least swap it out?

I didn't find the default Windows 10 load to have much bloatware, but a reinstall never hurts.

The SSD that came with mine was terrible. Fortunately I had already purchased a replacement.

Is Windows installed on the SSD, or on the 1TB?

 

Oh awesome. Do they come to me or sometning and replace the screen only or the entire system. I literally bought it like 2 days ago.

Mines installed on the 256gb SDD. Like the loading of things are snappy and fast it's just feels really weird and stuttery idk how to properly explain it haha.

 

Pax West on Sept. 2nd...we'll know then.

Powered by: Octa Core Exynos + 6820HK

 

Not sure. The dead pixel on my first 17R3 was the least of its problems, and its replacement has no dead pixels.

 

Depends if you bought premium warranty or not. Since it did come defective you could probably talk them into upgrading you to a premium/extended warranty for free so you don't return the system.

 

Hi JerseyBoy,

You installed DDR4-2400 in an Alienware 17R3? did you have any problems? I 'm thinking of buying these memories for my Alienware 17R3:

Corsair Vengeance Performance Memory Kit Unbuffered SODIMM 32 DDR4 2400 MT/s DRAM CMSX32GX4M2A2400C16

 

I powered off and unplugged my 17R3 (BIOS 1.2.14) last night and went to bed. Today I plugged it in and attempted to power up the system but pressing the power button just activated the power button LED and the laptop remained powered down. No amount of coaxing, pulling the battery, etc, would convince it to power up.

I pulled the power, battery and RAM, located the CMOS clear pads and shorted them. After re-assembly the laptop still wouldn't power up. I tried holding the Fn key and pressing the power button, but this also didn't work. Eventually, I pulled the power and battery again, held the power button for some seconds, re-connected the power but left the battery disconnected and held the Fn key whilst pressing the power button and the laptop came to life. Expected CMOS / RTC error displayed and I was able to continue to system diagnostics which completed successfully (aside from an expected error due to the disconnected battery). Exiting the diagnostics rebooted the laptop and the OS booted correctly.

TL;DR Even if you think the laptop is completely dead, stay calm and retry recovery procedures multiple times as they may not be successful on the first (or fifth) try.

Update: Flashed BIOS 1.3.6 successfully.

 

Hi! anyone know if Alienware 17R3 (Core i7 6700HQ) supports DDR4-2400? specifically this DDR4:

Corsair Vengeance 32GB (2x16GB) DDR4 SODIMM 2666MHz CL18 Memory Kit (CMSX32GX4M2A2666C18)
http://www.corsair.com/en/vengeance...m-2666mhz-cl18-memory-kit-cmsx32gx4m2a2666c18

or

Hyperx Impact SODIMM - 32GB Kit*(2x16GB) - DDR4 2400MHz CL14 SODIMM
http://www.hyperxgaming.com/us/memory/impact-ddr4

thks!!!

 

Apparently it's only rated for 2133, but someone got 2400 working: https://www.reddit.com/r/Alienware/comments/3uz1r5/ram_upgrade_for_alienware_17_r3/

 

and of these 3 brands/models which to buy?

Crucial Ballistix Sport LT 32GB Kit (2 x 16GB) DDR4-2400 SODIMM
Hyperx Impact SODIMM 32GB Kit*(2x16GB) - DDR4 2400MHz CL14 SODIMM
Corsair Vengeance Performance Memory Kit Unbuffered SODIMM 32 DDR4 2400 MT/s DRAM CMSX32GX4M2A2400C16

 

Hi! anyone know if Alienware 17R3 (Core i7 6700HQ) supports DDR4 2666?

 

lol you just asked about 2400.

 

Have read all 300+ pages and still we don't have a full picture of the timings and benchmark scores for memory for the r3 17.

It seems that everyone is trying to see what memory will work in their system, but for what reason.. Performance!? Then the likely chance is that the 2666 & 2800 modules you won't see much if an of an improvement as the cpu limits this. I have the 6820hk and on Intel own site it says that the maximum range is 2133.

Also, has anyone benchmarked the original ram? Is it that bad? I'd be interested to see how it benchmarks against g.skill & HyperX 2400.. Probably the only ones I'd go for and even the is there any point?

I love my r3, the 4K display is everything for me, however I'm also nuts and want to have my system purring. I plan on upgrading my memory to 2400 and also the ssd to pro 950.. But besides that, that is it.. Dell really have lost the insight as to why fokes buy Alienware.

 

Also.. has anyone an idea of the chipset.. z170 you would have thought however this isn't declared anywhere

 

HWInfo says chipset is Intel HM170.

 

Thanks

 

Hi everyone, I'm about to get my new 17 r3, it's on shipping .
However, I do notice some issue about bios that people faced.
Is there anything, or a check-list of must-do-things that I have to prepare for the new 17 r3 ? What is the most stable bios version for the laptop ?
Thanks in advance.

 

Congratulations on your new notebook!

That I can recall, the main thing would be updating drivers, and rather carefully. New notebooks should have most drivers already up-to-date.
Many people also prefer doing a clean install of Windows.

The Dell downloads page is:

https://downloads.dell.com/published/pages/alienware-17-r3.html

The most stable BIOS is considered to be version 1.2.2, however the latest BIOS versions seem to be OK. Just make sure to put their exe file in a flash drive and install by booting the notebook and pressing F12 as soon as the Alienware logo shows up, then choosing BIOS Upgrade. Doing it through Windows is asking for trouble, saying from experience here...

Also be careful with the Killer Wireless drivers, in case you didn't get the Intel AC Wireless card. The latest Killer Driver Suite from their website is full of issues, so either stay with the latest one provided by Dell or use the "Standard Drivers (with no Killer features)".

Nvidia drivers are preferably updated straight from their website, although not necessarily the latest version is the best. I'm running 372.54 and it's all good.

If you're going to venture into overclocking, you also might be interested in a repaste:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/alienware-15-teardown-repaste-guide.778264/

 

What are the problems with the Killer drivers?

 

When I installed the latest drivers, my AW couldn't sleep. Others had recurrent disconnects and BSODs. Theres a thread in this forum about that:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/thr...ng-random-disconnects-and-bsod-errors.795261/

 

Hi All,

I got quite a good deal on a 17 R3 (approx £1350 from the Dell outlet with the i7-6820HK cpu, GTX 980M GPU, 1TB HDD with 512 SSD, 16GB Ram, 4k screen). This will be delivered towards the end of this month.

At the moment I'm weighing up cancelling the order and waiting for the newly released graphics cards or keeping the order.

What are peoples thoughts on the performance improvement that the new graphics cards will provide and also on how much they think the new 17 inch laptops will cost?

I do think overall that I would prefer a 4k screen over the 1080p which is another thing that I need to consider (I think a 17 inch one with GTX 1070 card with 4k screen will be at least £1700).

Just looking for a bit of help/guidance/opinions on what to do.

 

I would rather spend 1700pounds compared to 1350 for the current models. The 1070 offers almost double the performance compared to the 980m.

 

GTX 1080 slightly more than doubles performance of 980M. GTX 1070 gives about 75% more performance than 980M. As seen when comparing Firestrike Graphics Scores on notebookcheck.net:
http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-GeForce-GTX-980M.126692.0.html
http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-GeForce-GTX-1080-Laptop.171212.0.html
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Mobile-NVIDIA-GeForce-GTX-1070-Laptop.169549.0.html

Considering you're buying a notebook that's mainly used for gaming, then you probably get better value for money going for the GTX 1070 laptop (assuming it's not 75% more expensive than your Dell Outlet deal you got on the 980M).

 

I was thinking the same but I do have a few doubts regarding getting the newer one:

1. It's a totally new, untested design which they've made thinner etc. so unsure of the build quality, whether there will be teething issues, heat dissipation of components in a thinner laptop
2. I hear that the pascal GPU's run hotter than the Maxwell's - I've also read that some alienware 17 R3's already run a bit hot with Maxwell GPU's so unsure of whether the newer ones will overheat etc.
3. Unsure of what the price will be - I said £1700 as a low end estimate but I think that with a 4k screen etc. I think it could be more like £2k? How much are similar laptops from other manufacturers as I suspect we can expect a similar price point.

I did have a question regarding the alienware with the 980m GPU - will this run most new games with ultra settings at 1080p? or only high settings? or only medium?

Sorry for all the questions, I am usually a console gamer.

Also, although I will use it for gaming, I also have a PS4 so this will probably be used for gaming when other people are watching the TV etc.

Thanks for your replies.

 

The upcoming Alienwares have double the size heatsinks compared to their predecessors.

 

Pascal GPUs do run hotter than Maxwell GPUs, but you still can't get away from the most important fact that they're 75-100% faster than the 980M depending on if you get the GTX 1070 or GTX 1080, I think that's the main consideration. They have modified the cooling system on the new upcoming Alienwares, in a bid to deal with the increased heat of Pascal - I think they'll do a good enough job. I personally wouldn't bother getting a 4K screen, I'd save money and get a 1080p screen (ideally 120Hz, but not sure if Alienware will offer 120Hz) - for a start a GTX 1070 or GTX 1080 cannot drive a 4K screen very well with the current games, let alone any kind of future proofing you want, just get the 1080p screen I reckon.

 

I agree with Raging Dragon that new designs could bring new issues, it's just too early to tell. Of course the Pascal GPUs have incredible performance, but the AW 17 R3 is a known entity. It's not perfect, but we known the main problems reasonably well...

That said, I also wouldn't expect the new models to come cheap.

The best move would probably be waiting until there are trusted reviews out there on the new models. And official prices.

 

You shouldn't have an issue running most if not all games on ultra at 1080p with the 980m. The one game I would worry about that I could test is deus ex. I was even able to play the division at
1440p with near high settings at aroud 60-70fps with it. Also, considering how bad the 17r2s/15r1's were when they came out, I would wait to see how this new design is. I bought the R2 and I would have to disable my turbo clock to play any demanding games without throttling.

 

Deus Ex Mankind Divided is terribly optimized unfortunately. But I wouldnt say it is still perfectly fine now. The 980M is slowly showing it's age now. I would definitely not buy any 980M laptop now since a cheaper 1060 is already faster than it.

 

I honestly did not even know there was a laptop 1060 coming out. Which makes things more interesting to just wait and see what the prices will be. If the design ends up being flawed you will at least have the dell warranty to fall back on. That's how I got a R3.

 

The most stable bios version is to return the computer to wherever you buy it

The maxwell laptops are all but useless right now because of pascal

 

I personally don't see the point of 4K for home use, unless you're talking about using a 32+ inch 4K TV as a desktop monitor. I already have to squint to see some things on my 17" 1080p 17R3 display, and I can't tell the difference between SD and HD on my 47" 1080p HDTV without glasses on. Get off my lawn!

With consoles boat-anchoring things, the 980M should do fine for a couple more years. It's a probably good time to consider the newer stuff if you're looking for a longer-term investment though.

 

I have a 4k TV and I definitely can tell the difference - keep in mind that it's a combination of screen size, viewing distance, and resolution that determine whether or not you'll be able to see the difference between 4k and 1080p. This website has a good calculator at the bottom that helps decide:
http://referencehometheater.com/2013/commentary/4k-calculator/
Based on that calculator, 1080p would be lower than ideal. Granted, 4k is higher than ideal, but I would prefer to go a bit higher than lower.

Interesting point regarding the consoles anchoring the visual quality - does anyone know what pc equivalent GPU will be used in the Xbox scorpio?

Thanks for replys by the way, this discussion is definitely helping with the decision - at the moment I'm strongly leaning towards keeping the R3 order based on cost, what I'll use it for, and the 980M still being a decent GPU to run latest games for a few years to come - I think I would want to change it once it can no longer run games at 1080p at medium settings. However, I would probably get the external graphics amplifier at that point anyway if the rest of the laptops components were still fine (which they probably will be).

One thing that was making me think of going with the newer one is VR, but I don't think that it will be mature enough for good games for at least a couple of years so I've dismissed that point now (and again, once it is, I could always use the graphics amplifier). What are peoples thoughts on this?

 

I was just talking with a friend today about the external graphics amplifier being a potentially good way to extend the lifespan of my 17R3 in a few years.

 

Most people that bring up these sites interpret it incorrectly. Its about identifying single pixels but increasing sharpness can still be perceived even on a 5inch smartphone screen from 1080p to 4k.

4k is definitely more crisp. Increasing readability of fonts etc.